Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 41: Chapter 39: Irascible Boss, Dragon Eagle Intervenes

”Alright!”

Without waiting for anyone to dissuade him, Professor Song hurried to open the safe.

Wan Ze and Lei Ming exchanged a helpless glance, but this was ultimately Professor Song’s affair, so it wasn’t their place to say much.

”Here it is.” Professor Song took out the Tiger Talisman, which was about the size of a finger.

Just as Lie Hu was about to move closer, Professor Song abruptly pulled it back. His eyes were wary as he said, ”This thing of mine isn’t a fake, of course. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come all this way to steal it, would you?”

”You have a point.” Lie Hu shrugged, unconcerned. ”Alright then, give me the communicator. I’ll make the call.”

Seeing Lei Ming’s doubtful look, Lie Hu said with an amused laugh, ”What’s wrong? This is your Dragon Eagle territory. Surely you’re not worried I’ll call for backup to get revenge, are you? My two brothers, I, Lie Hu, have always been in it for the money, not for lives. Besides, if Professor Song can really cooperate with the organization, I’ll have completed my mission. There’s no need to ask for trouble.”

Lei Ming clapped a heavy hand on his shoulder and chuckled. ”It’s good that you’re a reasonable man, brother. In that case, let me give you a proper introduction. We’re currently at the Dragon Eagle Martial Arts Hall headquarters. My master’s residence is just two hundred meters away... You know who my master is, right? Hehe.”

The corner of Lie Hu’s mouth twitched. He knew Lei Ming was threatening him, and he was so exasperated he almost laughed, but there was nothing he could do. In front of everyone, he dialed a number. ”Boss, should we cooperate with Professor Song?”

”Cooperate? Cooperate my ass! Take him out!” an impatient voice barked from the other end of the communicator.

The atmosphere in the room froze.

’The deal’s off?’

Feeling the murderous intent that erupted from behind him, Lie Hu felt like killing his boss, Lie Qi. He quickly shouted, ”Boss, wait! I’m not trying to refute your decision, it’s just that during my investigation today, I discovered this old professor’s knowledge of the Ying Kingdom’s culture is even deeper than I imagined...”

”Is that so?” The man on the other end sounded thoughtful. ”But I don’t understand any of that stuff. Who cares what he knows? Isn’t it just easier to kill him? What if the rumors about the Tiger Talisman are fake? Alright, cut the crap. Take him out!”

”No, Boss! The most important thing these days is talent! Talent, Boss! It’s incredibly scarce!”

”You little shit... you’ve got the slickest tongue of them all. You haven’t been kidnapped, have you? HAHAHAHA.” The man suddenly burst into loud laughter.

The atmosphere froze once again.

Lie Hu’s mouth twitched, and his smile was somewhat forced.

Especially with the two god-of-death-like figures on his left and right staring daggers at him. He really wanted to throttle his boss. He gave a dry laugh. ”Hehehe... Boss, you sure know how to joke. You know... what the Tiger Talisman means to us. And making a scene would draw a lot of attention.”

The man’s laughter stopped. He seemed to be thinking. After a moment, he said, ”Fine. You can cooperate. You handle the details yourself. Once it’s done, kill him.”

’Kill, kill, kill! Kill your grandma’s head!’

Professor Song couldn’t help but look over, his expression full of suspicion.

’Just what son of a bitch is so eager to see this old man die?’

Lie Hu gave an awkward smile. ”The boss is absolutely right. I won’t disturb you any further, then.”

”I’ll be waiting for your good news.”

The call ended. Lie Hu forced a smile. ”You heard him. We can cooperate.”

”And then kill Professor Song after the cooperation is over?” Lei Ming glanced at him, a smirk playing on his lips.

”Of course not,” Lie Hu said with a dry laugh. He silently cursed Lie Qi’s entire family eighteen times over and quickly changed the subject. ”Let’s talk about the cooperation. First things first, what we want are the methods of the Qi Refiners. Of course, who knows if the Imperial Mausoleum even exists? The higher-ups give an order, and we run ourselves ragged.”

”I’m not interested in Qi Refiners. As long as we can find the Imperial Mausoleum, that’s all that matters,” Professor Song said with a calm expression.

Standing nearby, Lei Ming felt a headache coming on just listening to them.

He looked at Wan Ze.

’This has gotten complicated.’

Cooperating with the Secret Palace was no different from bargaining with a tiger for its skin, but this was Professor Song’s private matter, so it wasn’t his place to interfere.

Just then, Professor Song made a request. ”Master Lei, I’ll have to trouble you to speak with the Dragon Eagle Martial Arts Hall. I need bodyguards... Of course, you and Master Xiaowan are welcome to participate. This matter is of the utmost importance to me.”

Upon hearing this, Lei Ming stopped wasting words. Business was business, after all. ”Alright. It’s not too late now. Junior Brother, please go to Master’s place and explain the situation. I’ll stay with Professor Song.”

’Stay with Professor Song?’

’Might as well just say you’re watching me.’

Lie Hu couldn’t help but glance over, only to see Lei Ming looking at him with that same half-smile. He immediately returned a grin.

「...」

Situ Bai was also quite interested in the matter of the Tiger Talisman, but he scoffed at the Secret Palace’s theories. ”It’s common knowledge that Emperor Ying sought eternal life, but as for the Tiger Talisman... let me pour some cold water on you first. From ancient times to the present, every item that has surfaced from Emperor Ying’s era has been subject to such speculation, but without exception, it’s all been wishful thinking. As for whether the Imperial Mausoleum can be found, I can’t say.”

Since Professor Song insisted on searching for it, Situ Bai naturally wouldn’t refuse. He would select members from the Dragon Eagle Martial Arts Hall to participate. After all, this matter involved cooperating with the Secret Palace, so the personnel selection needed to be handled with caution.

For safety reasons, Wan Ze was not among the personnel selected to participate.

「Inside the room.」

Wan Ze found a chair and sat down, pouring himself some tea. Seeing Lei Ming stride in, he asked casually, ”Is everything arranged?”

”All taken care of. Our men took those two from the Secret Palace away. As long as they don’t try any tricks, everything will be fine.” Lei Ming then added thoughtfully, ”Ah Ze, Master doesn’t want you participating in this, so don’t get any funny ideas... This Lie Hu is just a minor figure in the Secret Palace. Their powerful members have always been thugs, so this cooperation is quite dangerous... Even ordinary members at the Blood Tempering Second Transformation aren’t allowed to participate.”

Wan Ze nodded and smiled. ”I know what’s at stake.”

Lei Ming also breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled. ”How to describe those guys from the Secret Palace... Vicious and unscrupulous. To be honest, Master was a bit hesitant about dealing with them this time. His first instinct was to just get rid of them and not bother with all this trouble... But he also wanted to use this as a chance for us to gain some real-world experience, so he dismissed the thought.”

”...” Wan Ze smacked his lips. ’Master is truly something else.’

’So direct! So frank! So righteous!’

A moment later, someone came looking for them.

Lei Ming stood up and called out, ”Senior Brother.” He was in too much of a hurry to introduce him to Wan Ze, so he just gave a nod before walking out of the room.

Through the open doorway, he caught a glimpse of the powerfully built man in gray clothes who had come for Lei Ming. He looked to be about twenty-eight years old, with a buzz cut. He was lean and capable, his gaze was like a torch, and his muscles were solid. His fists, in particular, looked like iron hammers—even bigger than Senior Brother Lei Ming’s!

The two of them didn’t talk for long before the man left.

Lei Ming came back in with a smile. ”I didn’t have time to introduce you just now. That was Master Qin’s beloved disciple, Senior Brother Tan Xiao...”

”He looks really strong,” Wan Ze remarked with a sigh.

”He is. He could take on five of me by himself,” Lei Ming said with a wry smile. It seemed he had sparred with Tan Xiao before and suffered a crushing defeat.

Wan Ze was speechless.

”But what a mess this has turned into. I thought it would be over by tomorrow at the earliest, but then this new problem popped up.” Lei Ming sighed as well, his gaze drifting. ”It’s still early. Are you going home, or are you staying at the martial hall’s guest house?”

”The guest house. It’ll save me from wasting time coming over tomorrow morning.” Wan Ze planned to use the weekend to grind his proficiency with the Mysterious Shadow Step.

”Alright then. Professor Song said he’ll withdraw the money tomorrow morning to settle the payment with us...”